Queer Filmmaker Launches New Web Series

Based and shot in Boston, 617 follows three friends from their childhood days in Quincy – Griffin, Scotty and Sully and three friends from their formative/informative college years – Alana, Siobhan and Cat as they discover what life and love off the Red Line in the hub of New England has to offer. I came up with the concept of the show because I wanted to create something that I would want to watch myself. Within the show I wanted to show the dynamic between a woman’s perspective along with a man’s on certain topics. We show how sometimes they are quite similar and how sometimes they are quite different. Dating and love are huge topics on the show and are never easy no matter if you are a man, woman, gay, or straight.

Executive producer Amy DePaola came onto the project very early on and has really taken this project to the next level. We feel that we can take advantage of our new media outlet. Amy believes that, “New media is important because of two things: creative control, and access, especially for independent filmmakers. [When you’re directly responsible for your own distribution] you get to maintain control of the content itself, and your project remains your own. And as far as access, having the series be available on the web means that people all over the world can access it just as readily as people locally. We’ll be able to reach people in Boston, New York and LA as well as people in India, China, Europe, you name it.”

I’m from Massachusetts and I wanted to be able to make something where Boston was one of the main characters of the show. I love this city, love living here, and wanted that portrayed in the show. We use local actors, a lot of whom grew up in the Boston area and we use local crew. Having all those elements I think just adds even more to the show. People have been offering us anything and everything we need, from parking to costumes to locations. Amy explains why keeping everything local is so important, “Too often productions come through to the area and outsource to New York and Los Angeles to fulfill those positions. There are plenty of talented individuals here in Boston but sadly their skills are not used and more often than not those individuals are forced to leave the area.”

As a queer filmmaker it’s also important to me to write something that has LGBT storylines because I feel like there is such a lack of quality LGBT media out there. Two of the main characters in 617 are gay and their storylines are just as important as every else’s. I think gay viewers will be able to relate to the characters and appreciate the story lines that I give them. I also wanted to create a series that brings the LGBT community and the straight community together in one show. Many shows are targeted at one population or the other. 617 is unique as it shows a more realistic portrayal of what life is really like for both communities today.

I hope viewers walk away after watching the show thinking that it was funny, relevant, that they could relate, and that they can’t wait for future episodes to watch. It’s a show that touches on so many topics relating to the late twenty something generation and I think that is why people will tune in.